Friday 16 March, 2018

I heard someone say recently that reading the Book of Hebrews is a great way to understand the fulfilment of the Old Testament in the New Testament. Reading this passage, I can certainly see how this is true. Here we see that God has thrown out the Old Covenant that He had made with His people, replacing it with a New Covenant. The Old Covenant was a series of laws, written on tablets, that were so thorough and in depth that they were essentially impossible to keep. In fact the very purpose of these laws was to show the people that they weren’t able to save themselves through their own actions – they needed a saviour, Jesus.

This still holds true for us today. Even as I have followed Christ for many years, I find that it can be very easy to slip into the habit of trying to do or be ‘good enough’ in order to feel like I am doing my part as a ‘good Christian’. Of course, ultimately I can’t ever be good enough on my own, no matter how hard I try – like the Israelites in the Old Testament, all my efforts do is point to my need for a bigger, perfect saviour. I love that verse 10 tells us that in this New Covenant, God has written His laws on our hearts and our minds. No longer are they etched on cold stone tablets, rather they are written into us that we would know who God is and what He has called us to, and we can have faith that He will enable us to live obedient lives towards Him. It is this obedience to what He has called us to that is far greater than our feeble attempts at being good enough for Him.

God, thank you that you provided a way for us to know you and that you desire to know us. Help us to rely on you for our salvation, never getting caught up in the trap of trying to be ‘good enough’’. Thank you that you help us to be obedient to all that you have called us to. Amen.

Written by Ps. Madelaine Tarasenko